John Dickerson
In the midst of interviewing government officials responsible for coordinating the federal response to Hurricane Florence, all three broadcast Sunday shows harangued those relief workers with questions about President Trump’s recent comments about Hurricane Maria.
For some reason, CBS This Morning on Thursday decided to devote over six minutes of air time to the leaker of classified information. Live from prison, the show’s hosts interviewed Reality Winner via phone. Many of the questions were softballs, including this one from Norah O’Donnell: “It is the documents you leaked that really brought everyone's attention to the Russians trying to infiltrate and attack our state voting system which at the time was not common knowledge. What has it been like to see the Russia investigation unfold from behind bars?”
On Wednesday, CBS This Morning joined CNN in highlighting the case of an illegal immigrant who is suing the government because her one-year-old child tragically died after leaving an ICE detention center where she allegedly contracted an infection. After a complete report ran, co-host John Dickerson incorrectly hinted that the Trump administration's zero tolerance policy was to blame for the death, suggesting that the government agency was not ready for the additional number of detainees, prompting agreement from co-host Gayle King. However, not only were the pair detained and released under the old policy before zero tolerance took effect, but the total number of detainee deaths in FY2018 so far appears to be on track to be no greater than FY2016 which included most of President Barack Obama's final year in office.
The network that, for years, employed alleged sexual harassers Charlie Rose and CEO Les Moonves decided to lecture Americans on Friday about “doing the right thing when nobody is watching.” CBS This Morning co-host and Obama donor Gayle King was particularly sanctimonious, despite the fact that she once complained about having to cover the allegations against “my friend” Rose.
It’s sad when the liberal comedian on your network is tougher than most of the journalists. But that’s what happened on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning as socialist Bernie Sanders made two network appearances. Late Night host Stephen Colbert repeatedly pressed Sanders on the problems with promoting socialism in America. Over on CBS This Morning, the efforts were half-hearted at best.
Well, that’s convenient. Donald Trump’s habit of not telling the truth has led CBS to reassess Bill Clinton’s fondness for lying to the country and those close to him. On Wednesday’s Late Show, Stephen Colbert began by insisting that NOW lies are really troublesome for a president: “No one really looks to Donald Trump to say like, "Oh, well I expect him to be truthful.... We’re grading lies on a scale.”
CBS This Morning co-host (and Democratic donor) Gayle King on Thursday angrily reacted to Donald Trump's mocking of potential 2020 opponent Joe Biden. Yet, the very same King in 2012 did not object to Biden smearing Republicans as wanting to put black voters “back in chains.” In fact, she attempted to fix the then-Vice President’s gaffe.
On Friday, the network morning shows devoted much of their coverage of President Trump’s visit to Britain on protesters “denouncing and mocking” him. Hosts and correspondents seemed to delight in the president receiving a “not-so-royal welcome” and being taunted by a giant balloon flying over the British capital “depicting Mr. Trump as an angry baby.”
On Thursday, all three network morning shows promoted the conspiracy theory that the arrest of porn star Stormy Daniels at an Ohio strip club for misdemeanor sex offences was a “politically motivated” “sting operation” designed to embarrass the adult film actress, who accused President Trump of having an affair with her in 2006. The NBC, ABC, and CBS broadcasts all touted such claims from Daniels’ media hound attorney Michael Avenatti.
The morning after President Trump named D.C. Circuit Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh as his second nominee to the Supreme Court, Tuesday’s CBS This Morning rushed to get reaction from Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. In the softball interview that followed, the liberal lawmaker was asked how he might “stop the nomination” and whether it would be a “betrayal of the party” for any Democrat to vote to confirm Kavanaugh.
CBS This Morning hosts on Friday unveiled a new series that basically amounts to an op-ed during the supposedly straight news show. Calling it “The Reporter’s Notebook,” co-host John Dickerson celebrated the White House’s reversal on splitting children as a victory for “the human tribe.” Norah O’Donnell touted co-host Gayle King’s lecture from this week that “the Statue of Liberty weeps” at the administration’s actions.
During interviews on both NBC’s Megyn Kelly Today and CBS This Morning on Monday, Barack Obama’s former communications director Dan Pfeiffer was treated to numerous softball questions that allowed him to promote his new book, political podcast, and blast the Trump administration.